Energy efficiency and conservation is becoming increasingly important because demand for energy is relentlessly growing while the dominant energy supplies in the form of various types of fossil fuels are steadily dwindling. Energy costs will continue to grow with time, causing a greater impact to both household and commercial budgets. Due to dependence on fossil fuels, energy production also is adversely affecting the environment by releasing carbon dioxide gas, which contributes to global warming. Studies have shown that when users are made aware of their electricity consumption, they reduce their consumption by up to 25%. When users understand their energy consumption, they conserve, but few commercially available products provide this empowering information.
Over 90% of the electricity generated in the US in 2005 came from nonrenewable sources, including 71.4% from fossil fuels, while only 8.8% was generated using renewable energy, with increased costs of 7% for electricity, 37.9% for natural gas, and 13.2% for coal. Congress has proposed a mandate of 20% of electricity to be from renewable sources by 2020, and utilities, municipalities, and states may face large fines if goals are not accomplished. If total consumption is reduced, the available renewable energy supply becomes a larger percentage of the generated supply, making this goal more obtainable.
Energy efficiency researchers have concluded that the 30-40% of energy use cannot be directly eliminated through technological advances. EnergyStar agrees, estimating that 30% of the energy consumed in buildings is used unnecessarily or inefficiently. Other resource consumption can be reduced through monitoring technologies as well, such as natural gas, where 12% was saved in a 1989 study. The best solution for reducing energy use is through behavioral changes by users, and these are enabled through monitoring and control technologies, which increase user knowledge and promote actions to conserve. Display technologies that report consumption, cost, supply, and other information are one way to accomplish this.
In 2004, an Energy Display Pilot was conducted to determine how reporting affects behavior, including evaluations of currently available products that provided such reporting. This pilot found that:    § the reduction is more effective when consumption information is presented quickly to users;    § cost savings with in-home displays is from 4-15% in flat-rate areas and higher in areas with variable pricing;    § savings do not necessarily remain after device removal; and    § there are no suitable devices on the market to interface with utility real-time pricing.
Unfortunately, most of the energy monitoring technologies estimate total consumption by extrapolating the current real-time use indefinitely, resulting in widely differing estimates depending on if HVAC, furnaces, water heaters, and other electrical devices are currently running.